The answer is in diversity

America is a nation that was built on diversity. It wasn’t something that was a choice or a point in the nation’s history where a vote was held to allow immigrants to start coming in. No, America has been a land of freedom for immigrants all through the many years of its history.

Having people from all around the world living and working in one country, with different backgrounds, cultures, religions and beliefs means an absolute necessity to come together with respect, tolerance and understanding. This doesn’t mean that everyone has to become who the other person is but it means that each person does need to understand each others’ differences and learn to respect those and realize that each person has many likenesses and common goals which is what drives America to move forward.

America has always been known as the land of opportunity and has been looked to for its great medical advances, technological advances, freedoms and many other qualities that have been part of what has made America a place of growth, opportunity and achievement.

What gives that edge to America? America has qualified input from its citizens and residents that reside here from all over the world. Everyone that comes here brings with them their expertise, their dreams, goals and determination to have a better life. Whether they come here to be a doctor, a scientist, a student, an engineer, a chef or whatever they desire to be, they become part of the American fabric.

Too often, a person is judged by the way they speak or the way they look or by what part of history their culture or religion has played in America’s past but has that individual personally been part of that history?

Why should they be judged? Why would their religion be held responsible for a group of extremist?

Throughout America, look around, there are many different people. Different races, cultures, religions and with each person there is a story. Until people take time to talk to each other, there is no way of knowing who the other person is. There is no reason to judge someone without knowing that particular individual, not by something that someone said or what someone may think but by talking to them and knowing them individually.
Without this effort and getting to know those around this great land of diversity and culture, a lot of what America has to offer is being put to the wayside and being wasted. So many people are in the shadows.
Showing respect, tolerance and understanding may be the best thing to start moving the U.S. out of the struggles it seems to be stuck in. This is not just something to learn when it comes to working within different cultures, races, religions and beliefs. This is also true when working with anyone, for any reason. This is true within our political parties, our Congress and our House. This is true in our schools with our young people. This is true within the workplace. This should just be part of daily life in America.

It starts with wanting to make a difference, stop arguing, end hate and intolerance and be willing to do what it takes to move America forward and making life better for everyone and each generation to come.

The best America has to offer may be one conversation away, one handshake away or one smile away.

 

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See people for their likenesses and not for their differences

Amazing people are found everywhere across America. When given the opportunity to tell their stories or share their hopes and dreams there are more likenesses than differences in their stories. The fact is life has become too busy, so much going on and just not enough time or effort put into to get to know others and really see truly who these other people are and what they are about, who they are and get to know their families.

During the fall of Wall Street and the markets crashing, when so many people didn’t know what would be happening to their jobs, the fears were the same for the people making $40,000 a year as those making $75,000 to $300,000 and more. Would they keep their jobs or suddenly lose everything they had worked so hard for due to no fault of their own? It didn’t matter what type of job a person had, years of experience, college degrees, a CEO or the boss of 500 people, no promises of a person’s job safety.

When so many homes were going up for foreclosure, many of those homes had been owned for many years. A lot of homes were new purchases, many had mortgages nearly paid off. Some worth $80,000, $200,000, $500.000, and right on up over a million dollars. Movie stars couldn’t afford to keep their homes. Financial hardship does not discriminate. When it hits nationwide as it did, it is even worse because there is nobody to lend a helping hand.

Yes, people were living above their means, well above in many cases. Many people had been living from paycheck to paycheck. Many two income houses suddenly turned into one income and then a part time income. But this can happen even without a financial crash of our Nation. This happens every single day across America.

Nearly any family at any time can get hit in the same way with a tragic medical diagnosis. Even if you have insurance, if someone in your family is struck with a chronic medical illness, especially if that person is the main income in the family and the person who holds the medical benefits. The financial situation will suddenly take a drastic turn if the medical situation remains ongoing causing a long term absence from work, long term hospital care, recovery, uncovered expenses, trial medications or travel for treatments unavailable in the local area.

Thanks to the Family Medical Leave Act signed in by President Bill Clinton in 1993, an employer cannot take a person’s job due to the necessity of absence in these conditions but pay is not required nor is covering the cost of health insurance premiums.

Understanding others and what they may be facing, how they have gotten into the situation they may be in or asking sometimes if they are okay may make a world of difference, literally. Understanding those around the community is a start to understanding the gaps in fixing many of the things that are in need of bringing communities back together.

Understanding families and their children will help our society to know how to work with the educational system and when a community works together for its children, success quickly begins to show. One thing parents typically agree on is the best for their children. It starts with understanding more of where the children are coming from and that requires working together, everyone in every walk of their life.

See people for their likenesses and not for their differences.

Bridge the gap.

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